Company Overview
About Underline
Underline Infrastructure is a New York City-based open-access fiber-optic network operator — backed by Ares Management (Infrastructure Opportunities strategy, first digital infrastructure investment from its $4.3 billion fund), FinTech Collective, Revolution's Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, and Emerson Collective — building intelligent fiber-to-the-home networks in partnership with municipalities across the United States as the nation's first intelligent community infrastructure platform. Founded around 2019 by Bob Thompson, Underline designs, finances, constructs, and operates fiber networks that serve as neutral public infrastructure available to multiple competing internet service providers. The company's Phase I deployment in Colorado Springs features a 225-mile fiber network connecting 24,000 homes and 4,000 businesses, with Phase II expansion underway to Fountain, Colorado and Salinas, California. Underline employs 88 people and provides speeds up to 10 Gbps for residential customers and 100 Gbps for enterprise customers.
Business Model & Competitive Advantage
Underline's open-access infrastructure model addresses the broadband monopoly problem that prevents competitive pricing and service innovation in American communities: traditional ISPs (Comcast, Charter, AT&T) build closed proprietary fiber networks where the infrastructure owner and service provider are the same company — creating natural monopolies that face no competition on the network once capital is deployed. Underline's model (building neutral Active Ethernet fiber infrastructure owned separately from internet services, then enabling multiple ISPs, TV providers, telehealth platforms, and other digital service providers to compete over the same physical fiber) replicates the competitive marketplace model that produced competitive pricing in mobile (where T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T all use shared spectrum) — giving Colorado Springs residents a choice of multiple ISPs rather than a single cable incumbent.
Competitive Landscape 2025–2026
In 2025, Underline competes in the community broadband, open-access fiber, and municipal internet infrastructure market with Google Fiber (open-access experiments in Kansas City), Ting Internet (Tucows subsidiary, open-access fiber in select markets), and UTOPIA Fiber (Utah open-access fiber network serving 25+ cities) for municipal partnership agreements, BEAD program funding allocations, and ISP partner recruitment for open-access network deployments. The Ares Management investment (from the $4.3B Infrastructure Opportunities strategy, which previously focused on traditional infrastructure like toll roads and utilities) validates open-access fiber as institutional-grade infrastructure — attracting the patient capital that fiber-to-the-home requires. The Colorado Springs deployment serves as the commercial proof of concept for the open-access model with multiple competing ISPs. The 2025 strategy focuses on geographic expansion to additional communities using BEAD broadband infrastructure funding, recruiting additional ISP partners onto existing Underline networks, and demonstrating the subscriber attachment and ARPU metrics that support institutional infrastructure investment returns.
The Underline Story
Founders
Recent Activity
View all →Company Timeline
Major milestones in Underline's journey
Leadership Team
Meet the leaders behind Underline
Bob Thompson
Bob Thompson founded Underline to address the failing state of American community infrastructure. Prior to Underline, he served as SVP & Head of Corporate Finance Solutions for Guardian Life, where his mandate ranged from Treasury & Liquidity Risk Management to Capital Markets Strategy, Corporate Development, M&A, and Strategic Investments. Thompson brings deep financial and strategic expertise to building intelligent infrastructure.
Jason White
Jason White serves as Co-founder and Vice President of Technology at Underline Infrastructure, overseeing the technical architecture and deployment of the company's software-defined, open-access fiber networks. His expertise in network engineering and telecommunications infrastructure is critical to Underline's innovative approach.
Coty Beasley
Coty Beasley is Co-founder and Head of Product & Design at Underline Infrastructure, responsible for designing the user experience across Underline's platform and services. His focus on product design ensures that Underline's open-access model delivers value to both consumers and service providers.
Eva Arevuo
Eva Arevuo leads marketing and communications for Underline Infrastructure. She is an experienced communications strategist with a passion for social impact ventures, civic tech, and urban innovation. Eva oversees all external communications and community engagement efforts.
Kyle Glaeser
Kyle Glaeser serves as Director of Emerging Networks at Underline Infrastructure, leading the company's expansion into new markets and overseeing the development of fiber networks in communities beyond Colorado Springs.
Rahul Aggarwal
Rahul Aggarwal is Head of Capital Markets at Underline Infrastructure, responsible for securing financing for network deployments and managing relationships with investors and capital partners. His work is essential to funding Underline's ambitious expansion plans.
Key Differentiators
Emerging Innovator
Underline is an emerging player bringing innovative solutions to the Telecom & Internet Providers market.
Frequently Asked Questions
Estimated Visibility Trend (Beta)
Simulated 8-week rolling score
Based on estimated brand signals. Historical tracking coming soon.
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